Traveling the West Bank

On this year’s 14 day trip to the Holy Land in May 2018, we will visit areas and sites not included on many tours. One of these areas is the West Bank north of Jerusalem. Our objective on the day we enter the West Bank is to see Tel Shiloh where the Tabernacle of Moses once stood. Along the way we will talk about the hill country of Judea, Benjamin and Ephraim.

We will travel the Central Ridge Highway (Israel Route 60) which goes through the heart of the land where the people lived, not along the coast or through the Jordan River Valley. We will be in proximity of GIlbeah, Rama, Mizpah, Bethel, Michmash, Ophrah on our journey to visit Shiloh, about 25 miles north of Jerusalem.

In the days of the Judges this area was the seat of government. Samuel traveled from Rama to “Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places.” (1 Sam 7:16) Judges Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jair, Jephtah and Abdon were from the West Bank tribes of Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. We will visit the land they protected and called home.

The road is called “the way of the Patriarchs” because it was traveled by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We know that Jesus used this road as he traveled from Jerusalem to Galilee, stopping at Jacob’s well in Shechem. For Joseph and Mary this route provided the shortest route to Bethlehem. I wrote Joseph’s travel journal in the book Advent Journeys. As our tour bus takes us along this route I will be interested in seeing the road for myself.

The trip from Jerusalem to Shiloh requires a group to go north. The first part of the journey will go through areas which were formerly independent towns, but became suburbs with the growth of Jerusalem. The first town of note is Gibeah which served for 38 years as the capital of Israel during the reign of King Saul. Today the town is called Pisgat Ze'ev and contains the unfinished Royal Palace at Tell el-ful which was to serve King Hussein of Jordan as his summer residence.

Israel Highway 60 goes around a curve to head north. Contained in or near this curve are two of the Levitical towns named in scripture Geba (modern Jeba’) and Anathoth (modern Anatot or Almon). The Bible tells how Jonathan freed Gaba from the Philistines. Later King Asa enlarged the city. Anathoth was the hometown of Jeremiah the prophet.

Continuing north we will pass Mizpah, a place translated “watchtower,” which is the first place on the Central Ridge Highway where Jerusalem can be viewed. Then we pass close to Ramallah, Bet-el and Et-Tel. Ramallah is a Palestinian administrative capital with a population close to 30,000. Beit-el is an Orthodox Jewish settlement placed at this location to honor Jacob, the grandson of Abraham who slept at this spot when he left home. Et-Tel is thought to be the site of the Biblical village of Ai which was destroyed by Joshua after the walls fell around Jericho.

Further north we pass Michmash (modern Mukhmas) where Saul and Jonathan fought the Philistines. Continuing north we pass Ophrah (modern Taybeh), a Christian village in the West Bank. It was near this village that Jesus spent time in hiding after he raised Lazarus from the dead.

Before reaching Shiloh we pass Mazra'a e-Sharkiya, an ancient farming community known as a farming community known for olive orchards, grape vineyards, fig trees and almond trees. As we travel we will learn the history past and present of these villages and the political situation of the West Bank. We will learn many interesting things to take home.

One of our objectives during our 14 day trip to the Holy Land in May 2018 is to see the West Bank and Shiloh. We will hear many stories from the Old Testament, the New Testament, Palestine and modern Israel as we travel this region. This trip to Israel will be unforgettable! Make sure you are included on this trip. For more details visit our our Israel Tour page at www.KosheCopy.com. Sign up today for a discount!